Blueberry Whistler Soda

I've had some issues with Whistler sodas not holding on to their seal. So this soda is one that I picked up earlier this summer before it had time to really lose its carbonation:

Well, the amount that was lost in this bottle wasn't a good sign from the start. And guess what? It was TOTALLY FLAT. Blue Sun Soda really needs to check something on their Whistler bottling machine because they are NOT holding seals!


Brand: Blueberry Whistler Soda.

Origin: Spring Lake Park, MN.

Purchase Place: Blue Sun Soda, Spring Lake Park, MN.

Sweetener: Sugar.

Review: The flavor was good, but it was dead flat, and that's just so annoying. From now on, I'll get Whistler sodas and drink then within the week. Heck, I might open one at Blue Sun Soda to make sure it's actually NOT flat right off the bad. Again, the flavor was nice - it reminded me of the blueberry "chips" that are in blueberry muffin mixes. But it was hard to get past the flat-ness.

Score: 6 out of 10.

Photos from the First "Minnesota Soda Festival"

Yesterday morning, my boys and I stopped by the Minnesota Soda Festival at Blue Sun Soda. It was raining when we got there as it started at 10 a.m., so it was pretty quiet at that time:

Soda sampling on 3 sides of the back of the building.

The Whistler Soda bottling machine inside.

Bottles and flavoring (to the right).

My boys playing some pinball inside.

Again, very quiet at 10 a.m. when it was raining.
There's Charlie in the orange, and Henry in the green playing Skee Ball.

The rain had stopped out back, so we headed out again! (They had food trucks there too.)

Of COURSE the boys wanted to try the "gross" sounding sodas (that are actually quite tasty).

For the soda tastings, you purchase tickets for 25 cents each, and then get a tiny shot of each kid of soda that you request. (I believe there were better prices if you wanted to try/drink a LOT.) Here's my boys getting their first sips of "Zombie Brain Juice:"

I tried the purple "Unicorn Yack" which showed a barfing unicorn. Tasty!

Charlie asking for more at the Whistler stand.

More people and families showing up.

I bought $3 worth of tickets (so 12 sips). I really only had 1 all to myself (the Unicorn Yack), and the boys had the rest as I tried tiny sips of theirs. We had 2 kinds of Dad's, a few kinds of Spring Grove, some Frostie root beer, the "gross" flavors above, Whistler above, and we ended by sharing some Virgil's.

They had a few different bouncy things there, and even though they were wet, lots of kids were in them.

More and more people showing up around 11:30.

It was a fun time, and luckily the weather turned around quickly enough to not ruin the whole day for the event. And Charlie had a great time with their famous Soda Jerk Billy who was ALL personality - he got his finger "stuck" trying to clean out an empty soda bottle, and Henry (my older son) yanked and yanked and couldn't pull it off for him. But Charlie zipped it off with one easy try, and felt like a stud. Then Billy did it again. It was cute.

Thanks Blue Sun Soda!

New Superheroes at "Minnesota's Largest Candy Store"

Last weekend, we stopped by Minnesota's Largest Candy Store. When we were there last (in Sept of 2017), there was a round room addition that wasn't quite finished. And we saw a life-sized Hulk that my boys loved (see link to see photo).

This time, my Iron Man loving 4-year-old LOVED bumping into the Hulkbuster armor:

Life-sized (11' high) with light up repulsor beams, arc reactor, and eyes.

Batman characters and the Silver Surfer. 

Thor, Spiderman (hanging upside down), and DC characters (Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and the Flash).

In the new "round" room, the Millennium Falcon was hanging from the ceiling.
And Star Lord, Groot, and Baby Groot were above the door.

Candy in the new round room, with part of the Starship Enterprise on the far left.

Back in the "old" part by the checkouts. This is 4 aisles of soda, or about 1/2 their selection.

I didn't get any soda, but I hope to be back later this month NOT on a weekend to stock up - it was BUSY when we were there!

This Weekend is the "Minneosta Soda Festival"

Blue Sun Soda Shop in the north metro has been mentioning this a lot on their Facebook page lately.

Here are some photos they posted as they get prepped for the big event:

They were promoting that $20 would get you all the soda sampling you could want as part of a VIP experience. Now they've mentioned that you can taste-test sodas for $0.25 each. Here's the link to the official "Minnesota Soda Festival" website for more info.

Here are 2 links to local stories about this upcoming event: an article in the Star Trib, and a video from Fox 9.

Here's part of what they say will be there:

• Over 100 Sodas to Try
• Over 1300 Sodas to Buy
• Bouncy Castles
• Face-Painters
• Street Performers & Characters
• Children's Activities
• Food Trucks
• Ride a 1950's Vintage Bus
• Whistler Soda Factory Tour Info
• Meet the Owners
• Meet the Soda Brewers
• And Much More!

I might be able to stop by with my boys. We'll see. Sounds fun!

Jones Grape Soda

The grocery store in Alexandria (Elden's) had a sale on Jones soda on an end-cap:

So I grabbed two. The first one I opened was grape at the cabin:

Brand: Jones Grape Soda

Origin: Made in Canada.

Purchase Place: Elden's Grocery Store, Alexandria, MN.

Sweetener: Inverted Cane Sugar. 

Review: This was OK. It was a little “sharper” than I’d prefer, when I hoped it was smoother. It wasn’t bad, but it didn’t have the best flavor. Overall, just a bit lower than average.

Score: 4 out of 10.

Tower Root Beer

Sorry for the big break between posts! We had a 6-day trip to 11 state parks earlier this month (see photos in THIS POST and in THIS POST). But now I'm back, and I cracked into some root beer last night:

Brand: Tower Root Beer.

Origin: North Reading, MA.

Purchase Place: Blue Sun Soda, Spring Lake Park, MN.

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: This wasn't anything too unique, but it was good. It was a nice balance of "smooth" and "bite," and there was just a hint of anise for a little kick. Nothing fancy, but it was good.

Score: 7 out of 10.

Yacht Club Black Cherry

I opened this tonight while I was gathering some files at work:

Brand: Yacht Club Black Cherry.

Origin: Centredale, Rhode Island.

Purchase Place: Blue Sun Soda, Spring Lake Park, MN.

Sweetener: Pure Cane Sugar.

Review: This had a lot of KICK for a black cherry soda. It wasn't necessarily a fantastic flavor, but it was a lot of it - it COMMITTED to a flavor, which I can respect. A little odd chemically taste at the end, so it wasn't the best. Still, not horrible. I'll rate it just below average.

Score: 4.5 out of 10.

Filbert's Diet Cola

This afternoon, I opened this diet cola:

Brand: Filbert's Diet Cola.

Origin: Chicago, IL.

Purchase Place: Blue Sun Soda, Spring Lake Park, MN.

Sweetener: Sodium Saccharin.

Review: This was REALLY flavorful with the initial sip, but then it tasted (typically) weak right away as most diet sodas do. This offers nothing new or special to the world of diet colas, but it's still pretty good. Nice subtle fruity flavor as well.

Score: 6.5 out of 10.